Can You Find Your Way Back?
by endless love xoxo
Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!

A/N hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so constructive critism would be greatly appreciated. remember to read and review hope you enjoy the story

Prolouge

As Rory got ready for her graduation party, she was struck with nerves. She knew there was really no reason to be nervous while celebrating your graduation with your family, but that didn't mean she couldn't be nervous about tommarrow. "God, where is Logan? He was suppose to be here 45 minutes ago." Rory sighed. She had been thinking a lot about her relationship with Logan. She didn't know if it would survive to be a real-world relationship, not just some silly college fling. Well she and Logan were always more than a fling, but it never seemed like they were going to be together for long. Well, what could she expect? She's 22; she hadn't even seen the world yet. "Ugh, I'll just go and meet him there." Rory said, really annoyed. As she walked out of her apartment, she noticed a package. It was from Philadelphia. Rory excitedly went inside and opened it. It was obviously from Jess, her ex boyfriend from high school. After all, he was the only person she knew in Philly. About a year ago, Jess had come to show her a book he had written. She had just dropped out of Yale and he got her on the right track. She figured it was a graduation present. Not that she would be expecting one, I mean, he did get her back to Yale, what more could a girl want, or at least what more could a girl like Rory want.

When she opened the box, she found a book. Books were her favorite things in the world, especially ones written by her "friends". The book was called "Rory". Rory stood there. He actually wrote a book. Her name was the title of a book. She read the back and it seemed that the book was about A boy who had went from the streets of New York to a small town called Stars Hollow. It had said "To Rory. Happy Graduation." Simple and sweet. Rory held the book close. She thought about all those indepth talks about books she had had with him. She thought about the dance marathon where she had admitted her feelings for Jess. She also thought of the Bid-a Basket Festival where they ate on the bridge and promised that she would give Ernest Hemmingway a chance by reading one of his books. Rory just stood there, reminiscing about all the good times she had had with Jess until Logan stepped in the door. "Hey Ace, ready to go? Sorry I'm late, I had to do something." Immediately, Rory snapped out of her daze. What was she thinking? She loved Logan; she was with Logan, not Jess. She hadn't really been with Jess in four years and she didn't plan to in the near future. The only thing Rory couldn't figure out was why it was so hard for her to admit she wasn't with Jess.

A/N I know it was kind of short but it's just to refresh your memory about Rory and Jess. Read and Review please!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back after so long? LIT!

A/N Thank you for all who liked my story. In my opinion, it'll only be getting better; the last chapter was just to refresh our memory about Jess and Rory. Remember to read and review. :

PS Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story.

Chapter One

"Rory, will you marry me?" Logan said with a huge smile on his face. "Oh no! Not here, not now!" Lorelai said to Christopher, her soon to be ex husband, father of her child, who she was still friendly with." I-I-I…" Rory didn't know what to say. She tried to make a pro con list in her head but for some reason she couldn't think of anything. The only thing she could think of was totally unrelated to the subject of marriage and she couldn't quite figure out why she had thought of it. Rory had been thinking of the bridge in Stars Hollow. For some reason, all she wanted to do at that moment was sit on the bridge and read Hemmingway. He was one of her least favorite authors and had absolutely no idea why she had wanted to read one of his books. _"Maybe he wrote a book about someone's boyfriend proposing to them and they had no idea what to say?"_ Rory thought. "Logan, I just… I just can't." Logan was absolutely stunned he had been going out with this girl for what, three years? She told him she loved him numerous times and he had repaid the favor by being a jerk so many times. He thought this was what she wanted, but apparently, she didn't even want him.

"Rory… what did I do…? I thought you loved me!" Logan said, strangely sounding on the verge of tears_. "Hey that's funny… I've never seen him cry before… I don't know… maybe I should say yes…"_ Rory thought. _"No! Pull yourself together Gilmore." _All of a sudden Rory had that feeling of an angel and devil on each of her shoulders, trying to help her make the right decision.

"So, do you love him? Because, if you love him you should probably say yes." The angel said.

"Well, yeah, I do love him…" Rory said. She couldn't believe she was talking to an imaginary angel on her shoulder. "Of course she loves him! She wouldn't have stayed with him for three years if she didn't love him. The real question is, is he the "one"?" The devil stated. Rory just stared. She thought devils were suppose to be bad. "Okay, look missy, I may be the devil but I represent the bad choice, it may not be the bad choice for you but it might be for someone else by the name of Logan." The devil said, annoyance in his voice. "So wait your not even my angel and my devil? Your Logan's?" Rory was very confused. Then it hit her, she was just stalling by thinking to herself. She always knew the answer to his question, she just didn't want to believe she had spent three years with the wrong guy.

"Logan, come with me." Rory said pulling Logan along. "Look Logan, I really do love you, I mean I'm not kidding when I say I love you, but I feel like I'm not in love with you. To me, being in love and loving someone is different. You love when your with someone your attracted to and love to spend time with and they just make you feel good. When you fall in love, you can't bare the feeling of not being with that person and you will never fall out of love. You get goose bumps when you're with them and you share interests but not so many that life gets boring. Logan, can you honestly say you ever felt that way about me?" Logan just stared at her. Although he had just had his heart broken, he knew she was right. He never did get that feeling when he was with her, he actually never got that feeling at all. He had never been in love but he knew that she must have been in love with someone for a long time to be able to describe it like that. "I'm sorry Ace, I mean Rory, I thought I was in love with you but when you put it like that, I just don't know… but I do know one thing, the only way you could have known how to describe being in love has to be that you are in love, maybe not with me, but with someone. Go find that someone because although you just broke my heart, I want you to be happy." Logan said while turning away, walking out of Rory's life forever. Rory stood there, shocked because she realized he was right, she must have been in love for a long time. She didn't know with who, but she had to have been. (A/N wow Rory's pretty oblivious)

After pondering the day's events while she sat at Luke's Diner in Stars Hollow, everything hit her. "Oh. My. God." Was all Rory could say over and over until Lorelai walked into the diner. "Rory, honey, what's wrong?" Rory couldn't answer. She was still in shock. She had just realized why she could only think of reading the painful Hemmingway on a bridge in Stars Hollow when her boyfriend asked her to marry him. "Mom, I think I'm going to look for a job in Philadelphia." Rory finally said. She knew what she had to do.

A/N So? Did you like it? Please review. Oh yeah, and Chapter 2 will be up soon.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!

A/N Thanks to everyone who likes the story. I'm going to try to update at least every other day. I just wanted to tell you that Jess won't really be in the story probably until Chapter 4. That's later than I wanted him to be in it but once he's in it, it'll be worth the wait. Just don't stop reading because Jess doesn't show up yet because I promise he'll be in it soon.

Chapter 2

It had been a week since the whole proposal fiasco. Rory's actual graduation had gone fine and although she was upset to leave Yale, she knew she had just stepped into the real world. Rory knew she really should have had a job already but her plans got delayed when she figured out who the guy for her was. She decided she wanted to get a job in Philadelphia. Rory had had her heart set on getting The Reston Fellowship with the New York Times but she didn't get it and had since had her heart set on getting a job with The Philadelphia Inquirer. She had already sent in her resume, and they liked her so much that they decided to give her an interview. Rory couldn't believe she was even doing this. She never thought of herself as the girl who made her plans to fit other peoples' lives. She also never thought of herself as being in love with a guy she hadn't seen in forever. She especially never thought she would fall for someone and take four years to figure it out! _"Oh what if he's moved on? Of course he's moved on! He's so cute, and smart, and sweet in a strange way once you get to know him,"_ Rory thought to herself, letting her insecurities getting the best of her. The real reason she was nervous about trying to win Jess back was because of their last encounter about a year ago. Rory and Jess had kissed when she went to the Truncheon Book's Open House. She was so angry at herself for keeping her real feelings on the back burner when she actually had a chance to be happy. _"Come on Gilmore, you're on your way to a job interview. You can't let personal feelings cloud your thoughts, even if personal feelings are one of the reasons you're trying to get this job..."_

Once Rory had gotten out of her interview, she felt extremely confident. The person interviewing her seemed to have been dropping hints she would be getting the job. He kept saying "Wow Miss Gilmore, your resume is very impressive. This paper would be lucky to have you." And other compliments like that. She decided she needed to call her mom. She dialed her number and waited for her mother to pick up.

"Mom?" Rory said, waiting for her mom to pick up the phone.

"Yeah, sweets?" Lorelai said sleepily into the phone. Rory noticed that, considering it was 12 noon. She just decided to ignore it to tell her mom the exciting news.

"I think I'm going to get the job! Nothing's official but they really seemed to like me! Even though I wasn't really considering moving to Philadelphia, this is a good paper and it's not extremely far from Stars Hollow." Rory said, knowing she lied to her mom. Mostly everything she said was true except for the part about not considering moving to Philadelphia. Ever since she realized she wanted to be with Jess all she thought about was to go see him, let alone live in the same city with him.

"Aw, honey, that's great. Now, I have two questions for you. One, when did they say they would tell you if you got the job or not? And two, why the sudden interest in moving to Philadelphia? Come on sweetie, I know when you're lying, and you were definitely lying about moving to Philadelphia." Lorelai said without a doubt in her mind that she was right. She knew her daughter all too well.

"How…? Never mind." Rory said realizing her mom could always tell when she was lying. She decided to just come out and say it, but before she could she answered her mom's question. "Well I'll find out by Saturday." Rory said. "Okay, mom, brace yourself. The real reason I want to move to Philadelphia is that… that…I… realizedthatwhenLoganproposedIwasinlovewithJessandalwayswilllovehim." Rory said in one breath. Her mom was silent for a few moments. She figured her mom couldn't understand her so she decided to say it again, slower. "Okay, sorry Mom, I said…"

"You said that you realized that when Logan proposed you were in love with Jess and you always will be in love with Jess." Lorelai said. Rory half smiled. Only her mother could understand what she said. "Okay, Mom, let me start from the beginning because realizing I love Jess at the worst moment probably makes no sense to you. I know you don't like him but… I don't know… it's just something I have to do, see if after all this time we can be together. If it turns out we can't, then I guess he's just not the one. Anyway, it all happened when I got a box from Philadelphia about an hour before the party…"

A/N Well that's it. Chapter 3 should be up tommarrow or the day after. Remeber to read and review.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!

A/N hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so constructive critism would be greatly appreciated. remember to read and review

Chapter 3

"Riiiiing, Riiiiing." Rory's cell phone went. She looked up at her alarm clock. It was 10 in the morning. _"Ugh, it's too early for Saturday. Wait. It's Saturday!"_ Rory thought and jumped at her phone. "Hello? Yes, this is her. Oh. Yes, well thank you very much." Rory said with a huge smile on her face as Lorelai walked in. "Yes, I'll get back to you by Monday. Bye." Rory couldn't keep from smiling. She had just gotten a great job in a pretty good city, close to Stars Hollow, and best of all, close to Jess. "Hon, did you get the job?" Lorelai asked although she already knew the answer. For some reason, she wanted it to be no. She had heard from Luke and Rory how Jess had grown up, but that didn't keep her from worrying about her daughter. She had never liked Jess because he had always ended up hurting Rory. She had to admit though, if Rory ended up getting hurt this time, it wouldn't be Jess' fault. Jess had no idea about Rory's feelings for him; he might have a girlfriend, which would definitely break Rory again. Her daughter was strong, but there was only so much heartbreak a girl could take. "Yes Mom, I got the job." Rory said very excited.

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Rory stood in front on The Philadelphia Inquirer. _"Wow she thought. It's my first real job. In Philadelphia. Wow Philadelphia." _Rory just realized she was no longer in Connecticut. She obviously knew she wouldn't always be in Stars Hollow; it was just strange to say "Hello, I'm Rory Gilmore. I live in Philadelphia." She hadn't even found an apartment yet. She was staying in a hotel, paid by the elder Gilmores of course, much to her protest. Rory decided that wasn't even the strangest thing that had happened to her in the past few days. She had been proposed to, figured out she was still in love with her high school boyfriend, got at job in Philadelphia, had a going away party thrown by Stars Hollow where her mother had gotten back together with her former fiancé Luke Danes. On top of all that, Luke had told Jess Rory was going to be in Philadelphia so that they could maybe make plans, catch up. Rory hadn't called and didn't answer her phone the one time Jess called. She was too afraid. She didn't know what to say to him yet. She had her chance to get back together with him atleast four times. "I'll figure it out later. Right now, I need to go to work." Rory said quietly to herself. And with that, she officially started her new life.

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"What a day!" Rory thought. "What a great day! I just can't believe how right that felt, and my first assignment, to cover the mayors press conference! It's definately not Christiane Amanpour, but it's a start." Rory was just wandering around, trying to figure out the area. She found three coffee places with no good coffee. She kept looking around until she spotted a book store called "Beans and Books" It sounded like a cheesy name but it was the only book store she'd found yet. When she got in, she saw a coffee counter. "Uh, one small coffee please." Rory said to the barista. She took a sip of her coffee and immediately thought of Luke's. "Yummm, that's really good." Rory thought. As she started looking around she decided to look at Hemmingway. She just gave him the benefit of the doubt, after all, the only thing she wanted to do the day Logan proposed was read his books, maybe it was a sign there was one book she missed that was actually okay. While looking at the same, old, Hemmingway books, "Are you kidding me?" someone said behind her. "OH MY GOD!" She said as she jumped. She turned around and was stunned. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Jess." was all she could say. That boy. The boy that she had moved to Philadelphia for was standing right infront of her, and she had no idea what to say. It was then that she realized her life was no longer going to be dull.

A/N So what'd you think? I know it's really short and I'm not exactly sure I like it but I had to get them meeting again out of the way. So, read and review.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!

A/N Hey Guys! I finally got Rory and Jess to meet again :)! I really like this chapter and I hope you do too. Read and Review!

Chapter 4

"Oh my god! Hey!" Rory said as she hugged him. She wasn't sure if that was the appropriate thing to do, but she didn't care. She and Jess had already lost too much time. "Hey Rory." Jess said, it was obvious he was uncomfortable with the hug. _"Oh no… does he still love me? He probably hates me from the last time we met." _Little did she know, the only reason he was uncomfortable was because he still loved herand knew, or thought, she would never love him back. "I'm sorry I missed your calls." Rory said meekly. "Oh it's fine. We can catch up now if you have time." Jess said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Yeah, I definitely have time for you." Rory said, smiling.

Jess took Rory to a park. They sat on the bench and discussed everything you could imagine, movies, books, music. Rory was only half listening though, all she could think about was why it took her so long to realize she wanted to be with him. She was also thinking about the time she skipped school to go to New York and see him. She looked around the park, taking it all in. "Rory, are you okay?" Jess was concerned. She looked distant the entire time they were talking.

"Oh yeah. I'm okay. I was just thinking…" Rory replied

"Thinking about…?"

"Just about that time, you know, in high school, when I visited you in New York," Rory saw Jess' confused face and said, "It's okay if you don't remember. I just thought this reminded me of Washington Square Park."

"Of course I remember. You ditched school and everything." Jess said, smirking.

"Yep, I did, I guess you grew on me Mariano." Both Rory and Jess smiled to themselves. They were silent for a few moments until Jess spoke up.

"So… how's Logan?" Just hearing that name made him cringe but he wanted to be the good guy for once.

"Oh, well, um, Logan and I aren't together anymore. He, well, proposed but he's not my soul mate. I know that sounds cliché but, well, it's true."

"Oh… uh sorry."

"Nah it's actually for the best. It made me realize something."

"Oh yeah? What's that? You suddenly like Hemmingway? Because, lemme tell you, Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."

Rory smiled at the reference. She couldn't believe he actually remembered that.

"No, it made me realize something about myself." She replied simply.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"As long as you stick around you'll find out soon enough." Rory said as she walked away.

"Hey! Rory! Come Back!"

"Later Dodger!" Rory called. She saw the confused look on his face. "Relax! This won't be the last time you see me. I'll call you tomorrow!"

Jess nodded and said quietly "Bye Rory."

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When Rory got back to her room, she had butterflies in her stomach. She felt like she was 17 again, back in Stars Hollow. She hadn't realized how much she had missed Jess until she actually had the chance to talk to him like they used to.Although she told him that she would call him tommorrow, she couldn't wait. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. "Hello?" he said. Her knees went weak at the sound of his voice.

"Um Hey" Rory said.

"Oh Rory, hey."

"So..."

"So why'd you call?"

"Um...well..."

"I'm glad you called."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. So... why'd you decide to call tonight?"

"I didn't want to wait." She said as she smiled slightly.

Jess smirked, and although Rory couldn't see him, she could picture him smirking.

"So, uh, Rory... do you wanna... hang out? Maybe tommorrow? For dinner? You know, you do owe me a dinner from last year." Jess said. He threw in the last part so that if she really had no interest, she would feel guilty and go.

"I'd love to, Jess."

"So, tommorrow, six o'clock."

"It's a date. Pick me up at The Franklin Hotel room 228."

"Okay, well see you tommorrow."

"Bye." Rory was ecstactic. She and Jess were actually talking like the used to _and_ she had a date with him. An actual date! She hadn't gone on a date with him in what, 4 years? She knew that moving to Philadelphia was one of the best desicions she ever made.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

Summary: What happens when you turn down a proposal for a guy you haven't dated since high school? Can you find your way back to the one you love after so long? LIT!

A/N This is the last and definate best chapter. When I started writing this I knew it wasn't going to be long, but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Read and Review!

Chapter 5

The next day, Rory's stomach was filled with butterflies. She had the day off from work, but she didn't have to be ready for 10 hours. _"How am I going to pass the time..." _She thought to herself. _"Okay, well I should probably take a shower, get dressed, call mom, and catch up on my reading."_ Rory thought while making her to do list in her head. Just as she was about to go into the shower her phone rang. "Hello? Sookie? Hey. What's wrong? Okay... slow down. Oh my god, I'm on my way." Rory had just found out her mom was in the hospital. It wasn't that serious, she broke her leg by falling down the inn's stairs. She knew she couldn't stay long but she had to see her, she was her mother, her best friend.

It took Rory only about 20 minutes to get ready and leave for Stars Hollow. As she was walking out the door she remembered about tonight. _"Jess... oh man I was really looking foward to that... he's gonna think I made an excuse up... OH! I'll write a note!" _Rory had finally decided on the third note she wrote after going through about seven. She folded the paper, wrote "Jess" on it, and taped it to her door. She decided writing a note was better than a phone call because she could atleast get everything out in the open. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but she had to try.

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"Mom!" Rory yelled as she entered her house.

"Rory!"

"Oh, Mom how are you?"

"I'm fine. It'll be hard to get around for a while but I'll manage."

"I wish I was here sooner but Philly to Connecticut is a longer drive than Yale to Stars Hollow."

"I'm just glad your here now."

"So how are things with Luke?"

"Great. Really, really great. You just missed him. And... how are things going with... Jess? Did you talk to him yet?"

"Yeah, actually we ran into each other at a book store. We talked for a while."

"That's it?"

"Well..."

"Oooh! Oooh! Tell Mommy!"

"Well, we were kinda going out on a date tonight... I mean I wasn't sure it was a date but he asked me to go out to dinner. It could be an invitation as friends but I'm not sure. It did sound like a date, but, God! I wish I knew if it was a date or not because if it was a friends thing we could just go out another time but if its a date he might not ask again."

"Sweets, calm down! Your rambling, and of course if it was a date, which from what you tell me I do think it is, he would ask again. He's been crazy about you for so long. Maybe he moved on, but still that doesn't mean hes not interested again. And I'm sorry I caused you to miss your date."

"It's not your fault. I just hope he doesn't think that I didn't want to go..."

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As Jess walked up to Rory's door, he was trying to figure out if Rory thought this was a date or just a friendly thing. He wanted it to be a date, but he also didn't want her to be uncomfortable. Jess still loved Rory. He had dated some people since their break up but never anything serious. When he finally got to her door, there was a note that said "Jess". It read:

_Dear Jess,_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't be here for our date. My mom broke her leg and I had to go visit her in Stars Hollow. But that's besides the point. I'm sorry that I left for Washington DC after I kissed you at Sookie's wedding. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything when you came back to Stars Hollow and told me you loved me. I'm sorry I didn't go with you when you asked me to leave with you, I was just so scared. I'm so sorry about kissing you last year and then telling you I loved Logan. I'm sorry about everything that went wrong with our relationship. Not that you don't have things to be sorry about, because you do, but I've made my fair share of mistakes. I told you that Logan proposing to me made me realize something about myself. I realized was that you're it for me. What I'm trying to say is that, Jess, I love you. Yes, it took me four years to figure it out. And yes, I know you probably don't love me anymore, but I want to try again. If you don't want to try again I'd understand because I've had enough chances to be with you again. Just... think about it, okay? I'll be back in two days and we can talk then._

_Love Always,_

_Rory_

All Jess could think was wow. He had been waiting for Rory since he moved to Stars Hollow and now shes telling him she loves him? How could she even think that he stopped loving her? He couldn't wait two days for her to get back. They already lost enough time. He decided he had to see her now, so he hopped in his car and drove to Stars Hollow.

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"Rory, hun, could you run over to Doose's and get icecream? Normally the market would be closed but Taylor's been doing some weird test to see how useful it would be if it was open 24 hours."

"Only if its in cones..." Rory mumbled

"What?"

"Oh nothing, I'll be back soon."

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While on her way to the market, Rory saw a car park infront of Luke's. _"Weird." _She thought. She kept walking until she saw the figure get out of the car. Once she saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks. He must of saw her stop because he ran over to her as fast as he could. "Jess, what are you..."

Jess cut her off. "Don't talk. I'm sorry, too. I made way more mistakes than you did when we were dating. Then I came back and expected you to stop everything just because I was there. Well, I realized I was wrong after I came back and I thought you would never want to talk to me again. But then I find this note. A note that says you love me. Well, Rory, I love you too."

Rory was stunned but you wouldn't know it by her reaction. She pulled Jess into the longest, most fierce, passionate kiss she had ever shared with him, or for anyone for that matter. She missed him so much and wanted him to know it.

"Don't you dare leave me again. I'll track you down and bring you back." Rory said while laughing.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Jess said before they kissed again.

Rory and Jess were perfect for eachother and they were finally in the same place at the same time. It was like they were in high school and nothing bad had happened between them these past few years. They had **finally **found their way back to eachother.

The End


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